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It was never Greece's intent, but it has inadvertently provided a
generation of talented young Greeks with the means to escape from the country's
rapidly shrinking economy. Greece's calamity may be Canada's opportunity.
Ottawa intends to take in 250,000 immigrants this year, with plans for a much stronger
focus on those who speak English or French well and who have higher educations
from recognized schools. In doing this, Canada is following the lead of
Australia, which has been targeting similar people for several years.

By teaching its young people English well and providing many of them
with a heavily subsidized superior education, the hope was that Greece would
become more internationally competitive. What it has done instead is prepare an
entire generation to succeed abroad. With youth unemployment topping 25 per
cent and economic growth declining for the fifth year in a row, an ominous
number of young Greeks want out.

A corrupt former Citizenship and Immigration Canada manager was
convicted Friday of taking cash and benefits in exchange for fast-tracking
immigration files for a conspirator's clients. Serré was convicted of 15 counts
of fraud and 12 counts of breach of trust for 10 immigration files processed
through the Ottawa CIC office in 2003 and 2004. She was acquitted of one count
of bribery. Serré remains free on bail pending a sentencing hearing, which will
likely be set on July 27. Serré, 41, teamed up with Dakik and his wife, who was
also Serré’s esthetician, to form what the judge described as a “joint
enterprise” to make money helping immigrants with their immigration files
between 2003 and 2004.

Saskatchewan is still growing fast, with immigrants making up virtually
all of the people who moved to the province in the first three months of the
year, Statistics Canada says. According to the federal statistics agency,
Saskatchewan grew by 4,470 people in the first quarter of 2012 — and among
provinces its growth rate was second only to Alberta. As of April 1, there were
1,072,082 people living in Saskatchewan. With a boost of 19,642 people in the
past year, the figure now stands at 1,072,082. The strong growth is driven by
immigration, with a net increase of 3,436 people coming from other countries.

New legislation introduced Wednesday by the Conservative government
gives greater powers to the immigration and public safety ministers to
determine who gets to come and stay in Canada. It’s the latest in a series of
changes that have given the immigration minister in particular far more
individual say over immigration matters.

The new law, called the Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act, seeks
to cut off avenues for convicted criminals to appeal their deportation.

Currently, anyone who is not a Canadian citizen and is sentenced to less
than two years in prison can appeal the automatic deportation order that comes
along with a jail term. But the new law would see that right cut off for
sentences of greater than six months, even for permanent residents who have
been in Canada for decades. The government argues that convicted criminals
abuse the existing appeal system to avoid deportation and, in the meantime,
remain in Canada for years.

The proposed legislation also makes it more difficult for those
convicted of crimes abroad — and their families — to get into Canada.

The Canadian government has decided to postpone their plans to install
new cameras and audio recording devices at border crossings and airports.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews announced that he had told the Canada Border
Services Agency (CBSA) to postpone the plans until a study of the privacy
implications is complete.

According to Assistant privacy commissioner Chantal Bernier, in order to
satisfy the privacy office, the CBSA must provide evidence that there is a need
to collect audio and video recordings of travellers and show that the
information collected will be handled properly.

Canada is continuing its crusade against immigration fraud with
ministers welcoming criminal charges against a number of individuals in
Montreal and Winnipeg. Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has brought charges
against a number of individuals under the Immigration and Refugee Protection
Act (IRPA) and the Criminal Code, including inducing, aiding or abetting
individuals to misrepresent themselves to the Government of Canada for
immigration purposes, and with possessing property obtained by crime. Bill
C-35, which came into force last June, makes it an offence for anyone other
than an accredited immigration representative to conduct business, for a fee or
other consideration, at any stage of an immigration application or proceeding.

Among those charged was Brad Jacobson, the president
of an immigration consulting firm started in 2009 with financing from a loan
program run by the University of Winnipeg’s Faculty of Business and Economics.
Mr. Jacobson faces 23 counts of immigration fraud for allegedly setting up fake
businesses to bring foreign workers to Canada. The CBSA said it suspected more
than 300 foreign nationals had fallen victim to the scheme.

An alleged associate, Kendall Schmidt, has been
charged with 8 counts. The two had “developed false businesses and fraudulently
submitted documents to lure foreign workers to Canada,” the CBSA said.

Meanwhile, Carol Massoud appeared in court in Montreal
accused of 61 charges. She had allegedly helped up to 30 families commit
residency fraud so they could qualify for Canadian passports without actually
living in Canada. She was also charged with acting as an immigration
representative without authority.

A Canadian man from Nepal says more than 100 people
from the Asian country have been financially ruined in a scheme that promised
them high-paying jobs in the Alberta oilpatch. Bradley Jacobson and
Kendall Schmidt have appeared in a Winnipeg court charged with various offences
under the Criminal Code and Refugee Protection Act.

Yadu Pandey is a Nepalese-Canadian trying to help people back home look
for temporary work in Canada. He says the fraud has ruined 111 people in Nepal
who paid $1,300 for jobs in the Alberta oilsands.

Requiring new immigrants to speak English or French to a higher level
will improve their economic prospects say ministers but others fear the policy
will target favoured nationalities. The Canadian government's plan to raise
language fluency requirements for prospective skilled immigrants has some
experts concerned that it may tilt migration patterns toward the
English-speaking world.

Canada's immigration minister Jason Kenney said earlier this year that
some immigration applicants will soon have to demonstrate high levels of
English or French fluency to gain entry to Canada. The proposed new
requirements would apply to the largest class of immigrants, the federal
skilled worker category, which accounts for nearly 100,000 of the roughly
250,000 immigrants who come to Canada every year.

The decision is aimed at improving economic outcomes for immigrants in
the country, which have been steadily declining over the last 30 years. Today a
new immigrant earns only about 60% of the wages of a similarly educated
Canadian-born citizen, compared with nearly 90% three decades ago. Meanwhile a
flood of research has shown that language ability is one of the best predictors
of rapid integration and economic success.

In 2010, citizens from the Philippines, China and India made up more
than 57 per cent of provincial nominee immigrants to Manitoba. By 2050,
Citigroup projects that China and India will be the two largest economies in
the world while the Philippines will be the tenth largest. Canada, which was
no. 10 in the world in 2010, will drop out of the top 10 by 2030.

If economic growth in the Philippines, China and India results in people
staying in these countries or immigrating to these countries, immigration to
Canada will either dry up or undergo a massive shift. It is not too late for
Canada to remain competitive in attracting the world's best and the brightest.
In order to do so, however, a shift is needed in government's attitude towards
immigration.

Canada Ranked 4th of the Most Peaceful Countries Globally – June 18,
2012

According to the annual Global Peace Index (GPI), Canada was ranked
world's 4th most peaceful country. Canada has moved up three spots from last
year, now in 4th place, following Iceland, Denmark, and New Zealand.

When determining a country's peacefulness, the report uses a number of
indicators including access to weapons, organized conflict, violent
demonstrations, political instability, and conflicts fought. For the majority
of indicators, Canada ranked as 1st, the lowest and most 'peaceful' ranking possible.
The 2012 index ranked 158 nations while the 2011 list included 153 countries.

The US Supreme Court struck down most of Arizona's controversial new
immigration law on Monday but let stand a key provision allowing officers to do
spot checks of people's identity papers.

The Arizona law has aroused intense controversy because of a particular
provision, that requires police to stop and demand proof of citizenship of
anyone they suspect of being illegal, even without probable cause.

Justices rejected a series of other provisions, including those that
would have criminalized immigrants for failing to register with the federal
government, or for seeking work or working without proper documents. They also
struck down a clause that would have allowed police to arrest those suspected
of being deportable without a warrant.

U.S. admits 1 million immigrants a year, far more than any nation – June
25, 2012

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the United States
accepted 1,062,040 legal permanent residents in fiscal year 2011, a number that
has been fairly steady over the past few years. Of this number, roughly 45
percent were new arrivals and about 55 percent were people already in the
United States whose status was upgraded to "permanent."

Separately, the United States admitted more than 4.4 million people in
2010 on a long-term temporary basis, either for employment or study. This
number does not include a much larger total (roughly 42 million people) admitted
for shorter stays, including visitors for pleasure or short-term business.

Using 2009 statistics, the only nation that came close to the United
States in permanent immigrant inflows was Germany. That year, the United States
had 1,130,800 permanent immigrants, compared with 606,314 for Germany. So the
United States had numbers about twice as big. The third-place finisher, Spain,
had 469,300.

Immigrants Are Working At Higher Rates than Non-Immigrants In Calif.,
Study Says – June 21, 2012

Latino and Asian immigrants are working at higher rates than
non-immigrants in California, a new study says. Sixty-one percent of immigrants
over age 16 are employed versus 57 percent of non-immigrants in the Golden
State, according to a report from the California Immigrant Policy Center
(CIPC). For Latino and Asian men, the difference is even greater. About 82
percent of all Latino and Asian immigrant men (ages 25 to 64) are employed,
compared with 74 percent of U.S.-born Latino and Asian men.

Other impressive statistics about immigrants include the study's finding
that immigrants account for 38 percent of all Californians with a Ph.D. degree.
Also, California immigrants are entrepreneurial and more likely to create their
own jobs than U.S.-born workers. Latino and Asian immigrants (age 25 to 64)
"both have a self-employment rate of 12 percent, which is higher than the
rates for non-immigrant Latinos and Asians (seven percent and eight percent,
respectively)," says the study.

Romney Lays Out Immigration Plan Before National Latino Leaders – June
21, 2012

Before a national gathering of Latino leaders Thursday, Mitt Romney said
that as President, he would give undocumented immigrants brought to the United
States as minors the chance to stay in the country permanently --and an
eventual path to U.S. citizenship-- but only if they serve in the U.S.
military.

His announcement came less than a week after President Obama said he was
going to give a two-year reprieve to undocumented immigrants who were brought
to the country as minors before the age of 16 years old, as long as they met
other criteria, including those currently in school or have graduated from high
school as well as serving in the military.

-Related article: President
Obama to Allow Young Illegal Immigrants to Remain in the U.S. – June 19, 2012

Hundreds of thousands of young people brought to the
United States as undocumented immigrants will be allowed to remain in the
country and obtain work permits without fear of deportation, under a new policy
of June 16, 2012 by the Obama administration. The new policy was announced by
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and brought into effect
immediately. Undocumented immigrants up to 30 years old who came to the United
States as children and do not pose a risk to national security would be
eligible to stay in the country and allowed to apply for U.S. work permits
under a two-year deferral from deportation.

The US House of Representatives on Monday unanimously expressed regret
for the passage of discriminatory laws against Chinese immigrants to the United
States, particularly the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Tuesday that China appreciates the apology,
adding that the contributions by Chinese-Americans to US history deserve
positive and due evaluation.

A new study has found that the US has seen a higher level of Asian
immigration to the country than immigration of Hispanics; perhaps revealing a
decrease in illegal immigration and increase in demand for highly-skilled
workers.

The study by the Pew Research Center, an American think tank details
what it describes as "the rise of Asian-Americans", a highly diverse
and fast-growing group that makes up nearly 6 percent of the US population. In
2010, about 430,000 Asian immigrants arrived representing 36 percent of all new
immigrants to the US compared to about 370,000 Hispanics about 31 percent of
new immigrants to the US.

The Pew analysis believes that the increase in Asian immigrants likely
began in 2009 as illegal immigrants crossing the border from Mexico sharply
declined due to increased immigration enforcement and a decrease in job
opportunities in the US due to the bad economy. The study also found that
roughly 6 in 10 international students studying at US colleges immigrate from
Asian countries.

Related articles:

-Fueled by immigration,
Asians are fastest-growing U.S. group – June 19, 2012

A new report shows that Asian Americans are the
fastest growing, the best educated and highest income racial group in the US.
In fact, the report by the Pew Research Center says that the Asians Americans -
most from the Far East and the Indian subcontinent are the most highly educated
immigrant group in the US history. Asian Americans are now the nation's
fastest-growing racial group, overtaking Latinos in recent years as the largest
stream of new immigrants arriving annually in the United States.

Filipino-Americans, numbering more than three million,
are now the second largest Asian group in the United States next to Chinese
Americans, a report by the Pew Research Center released Wednesday showed.
Filipinos comprise 19.7 percent (3,416,840) of Asians living in the United
States while the Chinese accounted for 23.3 percent (4,010,114), according to
the report. The other large Asian groups, each estimated at more than a
million, included Indians (18.4 percent), Vietnamese (10.0%), Koreans (9.9
percent) and Japanese (7.5 percent).

According to U.S. President Barack Obama in a speech via video at the
Caribbean Tourism Summit and Outlook Seminar 2012, his administration is taking
steps to ease visa requirements for visitors to the U.S. The Caribbean Tourism
Summit and Outlook Seminar 2012 which took place in Jamaica from June 15 to
June 16 looked at issues facing regional tourism and methods to improve its
competitiveness.

"Tourism is the number one service we export and that is because we
have a great product to sell," he said. The President stressed the
importance to the economy of U.S. tourism. "We are also protecting our
borders, while trying to make it easier for tourists from more countries to
visit without a visa, and we are speeding up visa processing in countries like
China and Brazil so more people can come and spend their money here,", the
President concluded.

The EU should "do its best to undermine" the
"homogeneity" of its member states, the UN's special representative
for migration has said. Peter Sutherland told peers the future prosperity of
many EU states depended on them becoming multicultural. He told the House of
Lords committee migration was a "crucial dynamic for economic growth"
in some EU nations "however difficult it may be to explain this to the
citizens of those states". An ageing or declining native population in
countries like Germany or southern EU states was the "key argument and, I
hesitate to the use word because people have attacked it, for the development
of multicultural states", he added.

"It's impossible to consider that the degree of homogeneity which
is implied by the other argument can survive because states have to become more
open states, in terms of the people who inhabit them. Just as the United
Kingdom has demonstrated."

4. UNITED KINGDOM

Delays in making decisions to settlement applications in the UK – June
22, 2012

The global customer service standard for settlement applications is to
make decisions on most applications within 12 weeks and all applications within
24 weeks. Due to a significant increase in the number of applications being
received, UK Border Agency is currently experiencing a delay in making
decisions on settlement applications. It is still making decisions on most
applications within 12 weeks, but many applications are taking longer to
resolve, which means that it may take up to 24 weeks for a decision to be made.

This week British diplomats in India claimed that the recent changes to
the UK's immigration policy won't affect genuine Tier 4 visa students who will
find the entry process no tougher than before. "We haven't made
significant changes when it comes to students applying to UK universities. We
have placed further restrictions on students applying to private colleges
because of incidence of fraud," said South Asia regional director of the
UK Border Agency Thomas Greig. British deputy high commissioner Mike
Nithavrianakis said that despite a competitive global student market the UK is
still a popular destination for Indian students. One reason the UK is popular
among Indian students is because of a common language. Many Indian students are
fluent in English.

Last year, the British high commission issued 30,000 UK Tier 4 student
visas in India. Officials said that 75 percent of those who applied were
successful.

From June 12, 2012 Poland has begun accepting EU blue card applications
from highly-skilled third country nationals who have an employment contract in
place with a Polish company and possess the required qualifications. The EU
Blue Card is still not implemented in all Member States. The Blue Card is a
good way to sidestep what can be complicated work and resident visas
requirements in many EU Countries. The EU blue card is valid throughout the
duration of the employment contract or for a maximum of two years.

The EU hopes that the EU Blue Card scheme will enable the EU to compete
effectively against the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand for skilled migrants.
It is an EU-wide work permit scheme allowing highly-skilled non-EU citizens the
right to work and live theoretically in any of the EU countries apart from
Denmark, Ireland, and the UK.

6. NIGERIA

Government Reforms Immigration System to Attract Investment and Boost
Tourism – June 20, 2012

The Federal Government of Nigeria will soon reform the country’s
immigration system to attract foreign investment, boost tourism, increase
employment opportunities and better secure Nigeria’s borders. The reforms
include a new investor visa category and a visa on arrival program for certain
tourist and business visitors.

The investor visa category will be open to foreign nationals making an
investment in Nigeria that will add value to the country’s economy. There is no
specified minimum investment threshold for the new visa; the required
investment is within the discretion of immigration officers. Other
discretionary factors include the investment’s proposed duration, its potential
for job creation, and its geographic scope.

7. AUSTRALIA

Australia visa pass mark announced to be lowered - Australian Visa
Bureau – June 22, 2012

The Australian Visa Bureau has helped thousands of people move to
Australia and, as the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC)
announced last week that as part of a raft of changes to policy to be rolled
out in July, the pass mark for the skilled migration program will be lowered
from 65 to 60. The Australia visa system will undergo several other changes as
of 1 July as part of DIAC’s new SkillSelect programme. While many thought the
Australia immigration changes would make the process of moving to Australia
more difficult, DIAC insists the changes will make the system responsive.

New census numbers show that more Asians are immigrating to Australia.
There has been an overall increase in Australia's population due to a resources
boom and growing immigration. Figures from the 2011 census showed that Mandarin
is now the second most popular language spoken after English. Additionally,
data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that Western
Australia and Queensland both recorded double-digit population growth over the
past five years, much higher than the national average of 8.3 percent.

Asians accounted for the biggest increase in immigration to Australia in
terms of ethnicity, with Indian and Chinese the fastest-growing groups. The
census showed that around one in four of the 21.5 million people surveyed in
the census last year were born outside Australia, compared with 22 percent a
decade ago. Furthermore, the number of European immigrants coming to Australia
has decreased from more than half of arrivals a decade ago to 40 percent last
year.

From July 1, as part of stage two of the Knight Review changes to the
student visa program, the funds required for prospective Australian student
visa applicants will increase from $18,000 to $18,610 per year. This funds
requirement is to show that applicants have enough money to cover their living
costs while studying in Australia.

The Knight Review is a government appointed strategic review of the
student visa program to help reform the Australian immigration student visa
program. In December 2010, the Australian Government conducted the first
strategic review of the student visa program to help enhance the quality,
integrity and competitiveness of the student visa program. Following the
review, recommendations to reform the program were submitted to Australian
immigration; they then began implementing changes to immigration rules in
November 2011.

The Federal government will expand the Skilled Graduate visa scheme next
year which will allow overseas students who graduate from Australian
universities to be eligible for work visas lasting two to four years. According
to Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, the expansion of the Skilled Graduate visa
scheme would help to enhance the competitiveness of Australia's $18 billion
inbound student industry. The relaxed immigration rules would potentially grant
work rights for all 220,000 overseas university students in Australia after
they graduate.

The immigration services of the New Zealand government will hike its
fees by 16.7 per cent from July 2. A press statement in this regard was issued
by the department of labor. The department claims that the increase in fees is
because of the services delivered at the immigration services' office. New
Zealand's immigration fees will remain broadly comparable to competitor
countries, according to the official release. But here is some good news around
80 percent of visitors will not be affected by the increase as most travel visa
free.

The Philippines has urged the Canadian government to recognize academic
credentials earned in the country to allow increased employment of Filipinos in
Canada. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario recently conveyed this
message to Canada’s Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism,
MP Jason Kenney, during their meeting at Canada’s Parliament Hill. Canada is
facing a looming shortage in its labor force. A million jobs could be unfilled
across Canada in sectors such as mining, oil, and health care by 2021. Degrees
earned in some foreign countries, including the Philippines, are downgraded
when assessed in Canada, due to differences in curricula and required number of
years.

The Philippines has been Canada’s largest source of temporary and
skilled workers since 2010 (around 30,000 a year), beating India and China,
which previously dominated Canada’s labor market.

Indian nationals who are regular international travelers may now enter
the Philippines and stay visa-free for 14 days, the Bureau of Immigration (BI)
said. But the BI said this privilege applies only to Indian travelers who are
holders of a valid visa from the European Union (EU), the United States,
Canada, Japan, Australia, Singapore, or United Kingdom.

Previously, Indian tourists must apply for an entry visa with a
Philippine consulate in their port of origin before entering the country.
“Indian nationals who avail of this scheme will be granted an initial stay of
14 days, which may be extended for an additional seven days,” the BI chief
explained. But David stressed the Indians cannot stay beyond 21 days, the
maximum allowable period of stay in the country.

A survey reported by the National Statistics Office showed that the country’s
employment rate improved in April this year compared the same period in 2011.
The NSO said the April 2012 Labor Force Survey (LFS) reported a 93.1 percent
employment rate compared to 92.8 percent recorded in the same period last year.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) urged yesterday aliens who are illegally
staying in the country to regularize their immigration status by updating their
stay or applying for the appropriate visa. In a statement, BI Commissioner
Ricardo David Jr. called on the illegal aliens to voluntarily surface and visit
any immigration office in their locality to have their stay legalized.

The number of mainlanders applying to move here as investor migrants is
expected to rise 20% to 4,200 cases by year-end. Midland Immigration
Consultancy chief executive Thomas Kut On said since the zero quota set to be
slapped on pregnant mainlanders next year will close one of the ways in, more
will opt to obtain residency through investment.

In the first quarter, the government received 720 applications for
investment migration, and Kut said this should hit 4,200 by year-end, compared
to 3,300 for 2011. "Mainland applications will keep rising," said
Kut, adding the demand continues to remain high.

A Filipino domestic worker has won permission to take her fight for
permanent residency in Hong Kong to its top court, hoping for a landmark ruling
that would let thousands of other foreign maids settle in the southern Chinese
financial centre.

The lawyer Mark Daly said a three-member panel of high court judges had
allowed his client, Evangeline Banao Vallejos, to appeal against their decision
in March upholding Hong Kong's denial of permanent residency for foreign
domestic workers. Other foreign residents can apply to settle permanently after
seven years. The judges said the court of final appeal would have to decide
whether immigration law was inconsistent with Hong Kong's mini-constitution,
the Basic Law.

Nearly 300,000 foreign maids, mainly from south-east Asian countries,
work for Hong Kong families. By the end of 2010, 117,000 had been resident for
seven years or more.

According to a recently-released report by Universitas 21 called “U21
Ranking of National Higher Education Systems,” Singapore emerges as the top
11th country worldwide and first in Asia for its provision of quality higher
education. The survey, which measures 48 countries based on four indicators
i.e. resources, environment, connectivity and output, aims to provide insights
into areas for improving living standards and how quality higher education
systems contribute to new ideas, bilateral trade relations and business activity.

Singapore company registration specialist Rikvin is confident that U21’s
latest report not only reaffirms and reflects Singapore’s standing as a global
education hub but indicates the high quality of manpower that Singapore
contributes to the global business community.

In a bid to help its startups access overseas markets and become global
players, the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE), a public-private
sector collaborative unit which aims to spur entrepreneurship in Singapore, has
just launched its first overseas chapter in Beijing.

Just last month, ACE launched the ACE Mentoring Program to complement
the ACE Startups Grant. ACE Startups was initiated to help entrepreneurial
Singaporeans take the first step to start and build their first business, and
in turn, to create valued jobs for Singaporeans. ACE’s mentoring program, on
the other hand, was designed to help ACE Startups grow sustainably with
mentoring during their first year of operations.